With little to do today, it was decided that it is about time for Barth to be exercised again. So we took a trip of about 60 miles to Bisbee, Tombstone, Sierra Vista then home. All seems well.

We are looking forward to the summer’s trips to the TN reunion.

I did not want to get Annie’s hopes up so I did not take her along. With her hearing, or lack thereof, she never knew I left.

It seemed simple enough. My Optometrist (Michaels) wants me to see an ophthalmologist (Katz). Katz told Michaels that my HMO, which I just joined Jan. 1, required a referral from my Primary Care Physician (Patel). Michaels sent a FAX to Patel asking for the referral. I did not see the FAX, so I do not know how accurate or readable it may be.

I went directly from Michaels’ office to Patel. Of course the doctor was not in, which has been the case the last three times I have been there. I explained the incoming FAX, the request, and left.

Today, two days later, I called Katz’ office and was told that a referral had not been received.

A call was placed to Patel’s office: I was told that no approval of the referral was required by the HMO and the referral had been sent… to Dr. Michaels, the optometrist that started the request! I asked them to please correct the error and call me when the correct action was taken. I am still waiting for that call.

Given the uncertainty of everything at this point, I called the HMO and was told that approval was not required, just the referral from my Primary Care Physician. At least they were correct about that fact.

This is the same office that told me that they no longer allow call-in prescriptions at the local Walgreens because of errors. It appears that is somewhat like the pot calling… well, you get the idea. Were the errors with the call-in prescriptions with Walgreens, or the good doctor’s own office? I have my ideas on that.

The problems exists because of office staff that are unqualified or untrained. It is obvious that speed of action supersedes the need to slow down and get it right. Instead they are sloppy and inaccurate in performance of their jobs.

The responsibility is directly with Dr. Patel. As my designated Primary Care Provider he is responsible for my health care. He is ultimately responsible for the performance of the entire office staff.

This is the same office that did not know how to hook up a portable heart monitor last year. I literally read the instruction manual and told the person how to do it.

I am considering a change to another doctor, but any doctor I could change to with my HMO ‘works for’ the same health group with common office staff personnel.

I think I will ask my HMO if they will approve my veterinarian as my Primary Care Physician. His office seems to function correctly.

This Winter, actually approaching Spring, I became aware that my drivers license test is approaching. Not having had one for 15 – 20 years, it was a surprise, and a point of a problem. My eyesight has been declining for years, and I have known that it has been approaching the unacceptable category to obtain a license renewal.

My visit to the optometrist today resulted in a confirmation of that fact. My left eye is 20/60+ and cannot improved beyond my current lens. My right eye is 20/40- after a prescription change, which means that I maybe have a 50/50 chance of passing the minimum requirement. I believe the minimum requirement is 20/40 in at least one eye, when tested at the DMV on their machine, but I have to re-confirm that.

The Optometrist today has suggested a visit to a good ophthalmologist in Tucson to check on an unexplained anomaly in my eyes before a final decision on lens prescription or license exam.

That opened a can of worms of a different kind. In order to minimize medical insurance expenses I switched to an HMO on my last enrollment. So in order to get insurance coverage on this exam the chain of action must be as follows:

Optometrist –> Primary Care Provider –> HMO approval –> Cornea Specialist

The HMO approval is not guaranteed, so now there is a waiting game to see if I have to pay this out of my pocket.

Some may by now be wondering, “So what is the big deal? Take the test. And if you fail get the lenses. Then if you fail take the next step (telescopic eyepiece).”

The answer to that is simple: The first time one fails, their driver license is revoked. They then are stranded without a license, no way to legally get themselves, or the car in which they arrived, home. One can then not drive to local or distant towns to get further medical assistance. So upfront planning is important. This is a significant problem to one that lives in a rural area, alone, for many other reasons also, such as having food to eat!

Additionally, there is a family reunion, probably the last of it’s scope, that occurs in mid-May in TN. So a loss of driver license before the reunion would preclude attendance.